Asymmetric cell division produces two cells that are genetically identical but each have distinctly different cell fates. During this process, epigenetic mechanisms play an important role in allowing the two daughter cells to have unique gene expression profiles that lead to their specific cell identities. Although the process of duplicating and segregating the genetic information during the cell cycle has been well studied, the question of how epigenetic information is duplicated and partitioned still remains. In this review, we discuss recent advances in understanding how epigenetic states are established and inherited, with emphasis on the asymmetric inheritance patterns of histones, DNA methylation, nonhistone proteins, RNAs, and organelles. We also discuss how misregulation of these processes may lead to diseases such as cancer and tissue degeneration.

不对称细胞分裂产生两个基因相同但细胞命运截然不同的细胞。在此过程中，表观遗传机制在允许两个子细胞具有独特的基因表达谱以导致其特定细胞身份方面发挥重要作用。尽管在细胞周期中复制和分离遗传信息的过程已经得到很好的研究，但表观遗传信息如何复制和分割的问题仍然存在。在这篇综述中，我们讨论了在理解表观遗传状态如何建立和遗传方面的最新进展，重点是组蛋白、DNA 甲基化、非组蛋白、RNA 和细胞器的不对称遗传模式。